Raising the Children of God… ( Canticle of Anna – Part 4)

” He raises the needy from the dust from the ash heaps he lifts up the poor.

To seat them with nobles , and make a glorious throne of their heritage.

For the Pillars of the earth are the Lords and He has set the world upon them.”

This part of the canticle has reflections of resurrection, redemption and majesty. It reminds us of the fact that the world and all within it , all of the world, indeed belong to God and it was all His creation.

Raising up the needy. He came into the world to fulfill the prophecy of the redemption of mankind because He loves us. To save the world to lift us up from the ash heaps of the sin that entered and plagued the world, from the depravity and desperation that had become the daily life of the world.

God Entered the world and did so in human form, true God and true man, and made brothers of all of humanity. He raised us from the dust giving us dignity , part of the royal priesthood. Then in the fulfillment of His time with us in the world, He spread out his arms and died on the cross from us. He defeated death and rose again and ascended into Heaven as first born of the dead , to pave the way for us, to prepare a place for us in his heavenly kingdom.

Because of the kingship of God in Heaven and because Jesus has made us His brothers , and because He calls us to be Priest, Prophet and King, we share the noble heritage that comes from bearing the title Christian.

It is important to say here that there are some who believe that God entered the world because of sin. This is counter-intuitive to the message of God. It would pre-suppose that, or even state that the world was in such bad shape , was some how so beyond what was good, that God had to enter the world to make restitution for our sins.

Instead of sin, we believe that God entered the world because of LOVE. As we recall the words of John 3:16 – ” For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life”. It does not say ” For God was so tired of all the sin in the world that He sent His only son”.

During His earthly ministry the singular form of the message was love ! ” Of faith, hope and love, the greatest of these is LOVE”.. and He told us that the two greatest commandments – were to love God with all our heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

You may find these things are all great and wonderful , but this is all ancient history and so how does this all apply today ? Does God still want these things for us ? Does God still love the world to spite how crazy and messed up things seem to be today ?

The search for relevance is something that we all have gone through. The better statement might be not so much that we are searching for relevance, but that what we are seeking is understanding. There is an old proverb that says ” Confusion is the first step on the journey to understanding”. This means that confusions or at least the awareness of confusion, means you have come to the understanding that there is a problem or issue or a thing that you need to seek, learn and apply to your experience.

Does God still love us to spite how crazy and messed up life may seem ? Of course ! A read through the old testament will show you that the things we experience today are not really so different than it was in biblical times. There was rape, murder, robbery, violence, drinking, drugs, and every other manner of sin. In the middle of all that sin and pain God still entered the world because why ? Because He LOVES us. God’s love does not change. He still loves us , cares for us, and wants what is best for us.

There is an old saying ” If you love something …. set it free”. God gave us free will. He gave us free will so that we cold come to know, love and serve Him. He loves us so much that He is willing to allow us to do what we will, so that through our own human frailty and existence , we can come to know Him writing our own experiences on our hearts. Those experiences make our relationship with God concrete for us. The more we have a relationship with God, the more clear our understanding becomes of the relevance of our faith life in our lives today.

2 Responses to “Raising the Children of God… ( Canticle of Anna – Part 4)”

I regard human free will as a great and dangerous gift. It’s improper exercise made possible man’s downfall and every subsequent sin. Thus, it is fitting that God ordained that each person properly exercise his will for his restoration in Christ. Have a blessed weekend, Mark. Pax et Bonum!

Right you are ! It is a blessing when we use it correctly.. It is a blessing that we come to know God through its right use.. Thank you again for stopping through..
Have a blessed weekend as well ! Pax Brother.. 🙂